Amethysts Unite
by Burning-Stars98
Summary: AU - While inspecting some ruins, Sonic has a vision of a massacre, and is chosen as the vessel for a force created to defend the world from an ancient evil. It becomes his new mission to find the rest of his "Flock", hidden in their own vessels all over the world, and unite them before history repeats itself. (Rated T just to be safe.)
1. The Vision

Sonic the Hedgehog. Blue Rat. Hero. Speedster. Cerulean Pincushion.

The teenager had been called many things, but archeologist had never been on that list before.  
The morning was cool, a soft breeze blowing over the clearing that housed the ruins of what appeared to be an ancient village. Sonic paused at the top of the hillside, looking down at the sight, then reached into the satchel slung over one shoulder and across his chest. As he pulled his hand out, it came with a small communicator, which was currently buzzing. The hedgehog pressed a button on the side, holding it with both hands. "I found the source of the beeping, kiddo." He reported. "Ruins of some kind..."

**Ruins?** On the communicator's screen appeared a young fox, his blue eyes cheery as he leaned closer to the screen. **Weird... I'm not finding anything about ruins in the area.**

"Oh, they're here." He flipped the screen around, letting it pan over the landscape in front of him. "I'm gonna take a look around."

**Don't break anything! This could be an a serious find, Sonic! I'll be there to join you in a few minutes!**

Sonic smirked. "Yeah. Serious rocks. Got it."  
He tossed the communicator back into the satchel then walked down the slope into the clearing. Though the ground had been beaten down by feet, it had obviously been long enough ago for some grass to have pushed through in random patches. The cool breeze brushed up some dust, blowing it across the clearing with a faint whistling sound. Everything was eerie quiet. "Echo!" he shouted, grinning as his voice echoed off of the walls of the ruins, before it faded. "Dude...Talk about depressing."

He looked up at the obelisk standing in the center of the clearing, one of the few things still in one piece. The sides were etched with markings, but Sonic wasn't sure what they meant. What had this place been? Who had lived here?  
His mind fell back to a few months ago, when he'd met Chaos. Chaos was a powerful creature that Dr. Eggman had freed from slumber, but had turned out to not be as evil as they'd all thought.  
Chaos had mentioned destroying a race in anger when they threatened his charges, the chao, but he'd said that he'd obliterated any signs of it, so these leftover buildings couldn't be remnants of it. They weren't even in the right location on the planet to match up.

Sonic's ears pricked as he heard a sound, like a child's cry. "Hmm?" He turned his attention to one of the buildings still in good shape, and where the sound was coming from. He wandered into the entrance, pulling out a flashlight from his satchel and shining it down the corridor. "Hello!?" He called. "Anyone here!?" He stepped into the corridor, the sound still present, but getting ever fainter. "Kiddo!? Are you alright!?" he called. He wandered the corridor a ways, then paused as the sound suddenly vanished.  
"...What was that... Where was it coming from...?" He mumbled as he leaned up against the wall. A sudden sharp pain like being stabbed then struck him in between his shoulder blades. "Ah!" He jumped away from the wall, whipping around and looking for what poked him, but the stone was as smooth as glass. "Weird..."

Sonic gasped as he heard shouts and cries coming from the way he'd come, and he hurried back towards the entrance, only to stop abruptly as he saw something dripping down the hall through the cracks in the ground...

...Blood.

The smell made him want to throw up, but as he tried to run for the door, he only gagged more as he saw the bodies lying around outside. Male and female, of several different species, slaughtered by the dark soldiers standing around, their blades and armor bloody. "W-What...!?" Sonic squeaked, backing away a few steps and hoping they didn't see him.

"I'm only counting eleven...!" One of the soldiers growled. "Where is the healer and their offspring!?"

Sonic gasped as out of another building that had been broken a few seconds ago, a soldier dragged out another of his own troop. "Nephrite...!" he growled as he tossed the body forward. "He betrayed us! Sent the healer and children away before anyone else could get to them!"

Nephrite was smaller than the others, and his helmet was gone, exposing his young appearance as his lifeless eyes stared at nothing. He couldn't have been more then ten years old. What kind of sickos were these guys!?

"Foolish child...!" the other soldier grumbled, kicking the boy over and exposing the stab wound to his stomach that had taken his life. "I should've known he'd be the sympathetic one...!"

Suddenly a light washed over the body, forcing Sonic to look away, and when it faded, Nephrite's body was gone, a blue flower in it's place.

"Gah! Get going!" the soldier barked, stomping the flower to shards. "Autumn Leaf and the children couldn't have gotten far!"

As the soldiers ran away, scene finally began to get to Sonic. The smell of blood, the sight of dead bodies lying still forever, the sound of the wind as it blew around and not a sound came from anywhere else. He started to teeter as darkness washed over his vision and his head became light, and he started to fall towards the ground.

"SONIC!"

Sonic's eyes snapped open, and he found himself heaving onto the grass outside of Tails' workshop.

"Whoa!" A strong arm wrapped around his torso, holding Sonic up as he swallowed back the urge to bring up more. "Take it easy, Sonic... Just relax."

"You okay, Sonic...?" Tails asked as he ran over into Sonic's view. "You dashed out here and... You're not okay."

Sonic trembled as he looked up at the red echidna who held him. "S-So much death... So much blood...!" he whimpered.

"What...? Did you see something?"

"D-Death... It was a _massacre_, Knuckles... A bloodbath...!"

Tails returned from the workshop with a clean rag, wiping Sonic's face off from his heaving. "We found you out in the ruins, unconscious in one of the buildings... Knuckles said he felt a dark presence there."

"Dark is right...! I-I was just looking around... But when I went inside, I...I heard someone screaming and then... Then I saw all these dead bodies, and these soldiers had killed them all and... It made me so sick to my stomach."

"It must've been a vision." Knuckles replied. "I've had them before... But from what you're describing, no wonder you threw up when you woke up."

Sonic looked up towards them. "... It seemed so _real_..."

"Come on inside, Sonic." Tails offered. "Some good rest will help ease your nerves."

"What if I have another vision and throw up again?"

Knuckles smirked. "I'll have a bucket ready, just in case."  
Sonic nodded slowly, taking a few steps before his shaking legs fell out from under him. "Okay, tough guy. Just let me carry you for now..." Knuckles picked the hedgehog up carefully in his arms, walking towards the house with Tails following.

* * *

Whatever had happened to Sonic in the ruins was more than just a simple scare, because by the next day, the hedgehog was running a high fever and had thrown up several more times. Tails was concerned enough to call a doctor, and now stood out in the living room as the doctor examined the hedgehog in the bedroom.  
He looked up as Knuckles opened the door. "Hey..." He murmured.

"...How's he doing?"

Tails sighed. "He finally managed to keep some crackers and water down, but he's still too weak to move and his fever's only gotten worse. I had to help him to the bathroom earlier, and he nearly passed out on the toilet... I'm worried about him. Maybe he caught some sort of virus left in those ruins."

"Whatever it is, we need to find a cure, and fast." Knuckles expressed. "Eggman could attack at any moment, and we can't have our go-to hero down when that happens."

They turned as the door opened, and the doctor left the room, her bag in hand. "I've done what I can for him, but I'm afraid this is out of my expertise."

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever Sonic caught in those ruins, it wasn't the only thing he brought with him... There's a presence about him. You kids may need to go back to the ruins to get answers..."

Tails and Knuckles looked to each other as the doctor left the house. "A presence...?"

Tails rubbed his chin. "...Maybe a spirit from those ruins invaded him... The doc's right, we need to go back to those ruins."  
He went into the bedroom, seeing Sonic asleep in the bed, his face paler than the moon. "Don't worry, Sonic...We're going to get to the bottom of this..."


	2. The Voice in the Wall

"You sure about this, Sonic...?" Tails asked.

Sonic nodded. The moment he'd heard they were going back to the ruins, he had insisted on coming with, no matter how he felt. "Something about these ruins connected with me... I gotta figure out what it is..." He walked towards the obelisk, pausing at the bottom and looking around. He then reached out towards the obelisk, his hand trembling before he placed it against the stone. This time, he didn't hear the cries, only a soft whistling sound of the wind. "...What was this place...?" he whispered.  
He then gasped as the stone become warm under his hand, and he looked up as the carvings on it started to glow. The light swirled around the sides towards the top, then a beam of light shot out of the obelisk's point, and washed over Sonic's frame. The hedgehog jumped back, but the light didn't seem to do anything but shine on him.  
It then dimmed, and Sonic watched as a door opened out of the bottom, leading to stairs that dropped into the darkness.

"Do we go down there...?" Knuckles asked, but Sonic was already climbing down the steps. "Okay, I guess we are."

Tails turned on his flashlight, shining it along the walls as they went deeper and deeper into the underground. Eventually, the smooth stone wall to their right shifted to a mural, and the trio paused to examine it. It portrayed three worlds stacked on top of one another: One of clouds, one of green vegetation and blue sky, and a third below it of darkness and fire. In each region, a figure was portrayed. In the clouds was a being that resembled an angel, in the darkness was a menacing being of black and red, and in the center region was a familiar face.

"Chaos..." Sonic whispered. "...But who are these other two?"

Tails shrugged. "...Let's see if it explains further on..."  
He led the way, shining his flashlight on the walls as they found more murals. One showed Chaos and the angel, obviously in love, and the third being in the shadows, glaring at the happy couple. A second showed Chaos defending the angel from the jealous dark one. A third showed Chaos throwing the dark one into the dark world below. It was obvious that Chaos and the dark one had both loved the same woman, and it had led to a dangerous final battle between the two.

The trio finally found the bottom of the stairs, and they found themselves in a space that was massive from their spacial perception, despite not being able to see. In the center of the room was a purple stone glowing very faintly on a pedestal, and as Tails turned from trying to find a torch to light, he saw Sonic walking towards it, hands reaching for it. "Sonic, don't _touch_ that!"  
The hedgehog didn't seemed to hear, and before Tails could reach his friend, Sonic's hands grasped the stone. Light shot out of his hands and Sonic yelped as he fell backwards onto the floor. "Sonic! Are you okay!?"

"I-I'm fine..." Sonic replied as Knuckles picked him up off the floor. "I don't know what came over me, I-"  
He stopped as the stone sent out a bright light, which lit the entire room up, exposing it's full size. There were twenty seats carved out of the stone walls, with symbols behind each of them on the walls, and on the ceiling was a massive mural of the angel, her hands held out as what appeared to be lights left them and moved down the domed ceiling towards each of the symbols.

"...It looks like a meeting chamber of some kind..." Tails murmured. "Perhaps for the people you saw?"

Sonic nodded slowly. "But who were they? What does this have to do with me? Why does it even matter!? I-"  
He was cut off by a loud rumbling from aboveground, and they all looked up. "What was that?"

"Trouble, most likely. Probably Eggman looking for us."

Sonic's eyes widened. "We can't let him hurt this place!"

"Sonic, it's a bunch of old ruins." Knuckles muttered. "Is it really that important?"

"Yes!"

"Wait." Tails caught Sonic's hand as the hedgehog took off. "If we stay down here, he may decide we're not here and leave..."

"But what if he doesn't!? What if he destroys everything looking for us!?"

"Sonic...Trust me..."

Sonic nodded slowly, but the look of worry seemed to be permanently etched on his face. Was there a second mind influencing his own? Perhaps one that belonged to this place... Had lived here once?

Tails never let go of his brother's hand, until after several minutes, the rumbling stopped, and all was quiet once more. Sonic was still for a moment, then gave a sigh of relief, taking a seat in one of the chairs etched out of the wall. "You okay?"

"I...Think so..." he whispered. "...I think this place has a stronger hold of me than I thought... I'm touching stuff I shouldn't touch, worrying about old buildings that haven't been lived in for ages..." He placed his head in his hands. "What's happening to me...?"

Tails placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure this out, Sonic..."

"Chaos is in those murals, he must know what's going on."

_'He doesn't want to talk about it.'_

The trio stiffened as a voice spoke from somewhere in the room. "Where are you!?" Knuckles shouted. "Come out and face us!"

_'I _am _facing you, you're just not looking hard enough.'_

They looked to their right, and saw one of the paintings on the wall moving, waving a hand. "Whoa...!"

Sonic walked over. "Who are you?" he asked.

The figure, a fox with black hands and feet, gave a chuckle. '_My name is Howlite. I am the last resident of this camp, simply because, as you can see, I can't leave. I'm a living painting.'_

"What is this place, Howlite?" Tails asked. "What does it have to do with Sonic?"

Howlite's eyes narrowed. '_Everything_...' He pointed to Sonic's chest. '_You, Mr. Hedgehog, are the vessel for a very powerful, and very ancient force... An Amethyst... Autumn Wind.'_

Sonic's hand reached up to his chest, holding it. "I am...? How?"

_'I have watched each and every Amethyst leave the dust here and find new hosts since their previous hosts were murdered by the Obsidian forces... It was terrible.'_

"My vision... So I am being possessed?"

_'In a way. Wind will only take full control if you are in immediate danger, or if you let him... He sleeps right now, but you'll know when he wakes.'_ Howlite sighed, _'I do not know who or where the other nineteen Amethysts are... But you must find them when they awaken, or else Lord Dominus will simply repeat what happened 1,000 years ago.'_

"Wait, nineteen? In my vision, there were only twelve."

_'Those events were 1,000 years ago... The Queen has forged eight more in that time, bringing it up to twenty.'_

"I see... How do I find them?"

_'Wind will help you when he fully wakes. You'll be able to feel their power... Hear their thoughts, if you concentrate. But be warned, the Obsidians will be looking for you as well, and you must be on your guard.'_

"So not only do we have to deal with Eggman, but now we have to find nineteen other people that're possessed with these things. Great." Knuckles muttered.

Howlite smirked. _'Indeed...'_

"Howlite, could you tell us what all of this is about? Why are these Obsidians and Lord Dominus after Sonic and the others?"

_'Did you not read the murals on your way in?'_

"We did." Sonic replied. "Chaos and this other guy fell in love with the same girl and got into a big fight over it."

_'Exactly. That other guy is Lord Dominus, and the girl is Queen Hopeful. Dominus created the Obsidians to destroy Chaos, and the Queen created the Amethysts to protect him and this middle realm from Dominus' clutches. The Obsidians and Amethysts were created to take each other out, and neither side is comfortable with backing down and calling it quits.'_

"So if we took out Lord Dominus and his goons, then the world would be safe?" Knuckles asked. "Sounds easy enough."

"Except we're dealing with a being that is just as powerful as Chaos." Tails explained. "And if it took all of the Chaos Emeralds to take down Chaos all by himself, it's gonna take a lot more to take down Dominus _and_ his army."

"Hmph."

Howlite shook his head with a sigh. '_That's all the time I have today...I can only be awake for so long. If you want any more information, come back tomorrow.'_

Sonic placed his hands on the wall. "Wait a second!" But the fox had once again gone still and silent. "Drat... Looks like we have a new mission, guys..."

"Yeah...It looks like we do."

Knuckles nudged Sonic's shoulder. "You know who you're gonna have to tell about this, right?"

Sonic stiffened for a moment, then gave a groan. "_Amy_...!"


	3. Allies and Enemies Gather

"So let me get this straight." Amy took a seat at the table. "You're the vessel for this ancient power that was created to protect Chaos from a jealous rival, and it's your duty to find the other nineteen and make sure they're not killed in some horrible way?"

Sonic shrugged. "That's pretty much what we know at the moment."

"And you learned all of this from a talking mural in the basement of some ruins?"

"Yup." Knuckles replied. "It's as crazy as it sounds..."

"Crazy is right." Amy put her head in her hands. "Does this ancient power have a consciousness?"

"Howlite didn't exactly say..." Sonic replied. "...But he did refer to Autumn Wind as 'him', and said he was dormant at the moment, so I think Wind does have a consciousness."

"How are you going to find all of the others and fight Eggman at the same time?"

"I don't know... But things have always worked out for us before, so I'm sure it'll be alright."

Amy sighed, her ears drooping a little. Sonic would never admit it, but he loved it when his girlfriend pouted and her bottom lip stuck out. "...Do you ever think you've got too much on our plates already for someone your age?"

"We're almost adults, Ames. It's time to take responsibility for our lives!" Knuckles announced.

"I'm serious, guys! World-Reknowned Hero is a big pair of shoes for one teenager to fill! And now you're gonna have this...Amethyst thing going on now too!?"

Sonic sighed. "It does seem like a lot... But we're a team. We can do anything if we work together."

"Yeah." Tails fistbumped his brother. "We're all going to help you find the other amethysts and keep them safe."

"Right!" Knuckles announced, and Amy gave a simple nod with a smile.

"Thanks guys. I needed that." Sonic got up from the table. "Do you think I'll get new powers when Autumn Wind finally awakens?"

Tails shrugged. "That'll be a question for Howlite tomorrow. Though with a name like 'Wind,' it'll probably be air-related."

"True." Sonic looked up to the sky, closing his eyes as the breeze blew by him. "Well...Off on another adventure..." He whispered.

* * *

The realm of Darkness... A bleak place of black stone jutting out in all directions, and lit by the flowing lava in between the cracked ground.

If a mortal were to see it, they might believe it was Hell.

Some of the inhabitants thought it was.

Along the steaming trails of lava, a pair wandered together, their feet not even feeling the heat. Covered in blackened armor and cloaks that dragged along the ground like oozing tar, their gazes moved about the region.  
"...Lovely afternoon, wouldn't you say?" The woman murmured, adjusting her cloak's hood. "Not too hot, not too humid..."

A smile cracked across her husband's face. "Oh Citrine, my sweet, you always manage to find something pleasant about zis place... We haven't left here in ages. I'm dying to see some action!"

"Soon, Zircon. Soon... It has been a thousand years... They will wake soon enough, and then we shall once again invade the Center Realm and destroy their hosts once again, just as you did all those centuries ago."

Zircon sighed. "Yes...Quartz still holds a grudge about that day."

Citrine rolled her eyes, grasping her husband's arm. "That old fox needs to get over it. _Ah_ have..."

"Yes, well-"

They paused as a chilly gust blew past them, snuffing out the upper layer of lava below their feet. "...He summons us." Citrine murmured, then picked up her cloak so that it no longer dragged. "Come! We must assemble with the others!"

Zircon chased after his wife, eventually catching up so that they both reached the arena at the same time. Hundreds of shapes in similar garb stood in the arena, looking up towards the towering stone in the center, awaiting their master to speak.  
Zircon brushed his way through the crowd, holding his wife's hand until he was nearly in the front of the crowd, pausing beside another soldier. "...Jasper."

"Zircon...!" The other hissed. "...I swear, this time I will kill one before you."

Citrine chuckled. "Good luck with that, Sugah."

"You think that just because you're Alexandrite's favorite, that you'll-"

"SHHHH!" The rest of the crowd shushed as they heard footsteps on the stone above.

There was a loud collective clang as all soldiers moved in unison into a salute as their leader stepped into view.  
It was silent for a moment, then a chuckle came from the dark shape that was almost invisible against the rock. "Now _that's_ what I like to hear!" He shouted. "A united force, all standing for a singular cause... Obsidians! I have just been informed by our spies, that the last Amethyst has chosen a host... And the first will soon awaken...!"

A loud cheer came from the amassed forces, then died immediately as Lord Dominus lifted a hand. "Now... We are going to make things a little more interesting this time... It took us almost twenty years to down the Amethysts last time, and I intend to fix that long time frame this time... This time, you will not be working solo, but in teams. We will destroy the Amethysts one at a time, as they manifest, to ensure that they never form up against us... Our first Amethyst is Autumn Wind... Jasper, Onyx, Tourmaline, you are to ensure he is_ ended_...!"

A grin spread across Jasper's face as he gave a bow, along with two more soldiers. "As you wish...!" He replied confidently, then hissed over to Zircon. "_Told_ you I'd kill first...!"

Zircon rolled his eyes. "We'll see, Jasper...We'll see..."


	4. Introductions are in Order

The beeping of an alarm clock pulled Sonic out of a very deep sleep.

A week had passed, and Sonic kept expecting some big, significant event to tell him that Autumn Wind had awakened. A sudden surge of strength, a tornado forming around him, something! But there had been no such occurence, not even a morning where he woke up feeling more rested than usual.

Sonic sat up in the bed, yawning as he ran a hand through his messy quills. "Well...Good morning, World..." He mumbled, slipping his shoes on and then fastening the buckles before wandering towards the bathroom. He turned on the faucet, splashing his face with some water to wake himself up further, then grabbed a towel and patted his face dry before looking up at his reflection in the mirror...

...It wasn't his.

"What the..." Sonic moved around, finding the reflection staying put like a portrait. It was of a hedgehog in his mid-to-late-thirties, and his shirt was torn and bloodied where he'd obviously been stabbed. Sonic reached towards the reflection.

"BOO!" The portrait suddenly shouted, his hands plastered on the glass like it was a window.

Sonic jumped back, nearly falling into the toilet, but catching himself on the wall. "Ah...Geez...!" He regained his footing as the reflection grinned. "What was _that_ for!?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. You're just so much fun to scare and I haven't had a chance to do it in ages...!"

Sonic's anger and shock faded, replaced by a smirk on his face as he came back up to the mirror. "Autumn Wind, I assume."

"Indeed, I am. Sorry for the abrupt transfer the other day, but when I saw you come into the ruins, I was like 'Ooh! He's a hero, and he's fast like the wind! Perfect!'"

Sonic chuckled. "So you talk to me through reflections?"

"Or psychically, if no reflective surfaces are around." He paused, looking at himself. "I...I probably should not mimic my appearance after Augustus... But I was melded with him for so long, I-"  
He paused as both he and Sonic seemed to feel a cold, dark presence wash over them, one that made Sonic shiver. "...They're here."

"Who?"

"...The Obsidian forces sent to kill you. You need to get out of here, Sonic!"

"And go where?"

"Preferably somewhere out of the city. If we're lucky, I'll be able to teach you how to use your new abilities to combat them before they find you."

"Ha! I _knew_ I'd get new powers!"

"JUST _GO_!"

Sonic nodded, quickly straightening his quills before taking off out of the house. He knew of some open fields outside the city where he'd have plenty of space to move.

"Morning, Sonic!" A pedestrian hollered as he passed.

"Morning, Detective Vector!" Sonic replied before picking up speed and dashing even faster. It almost felt like he was trying to outrun the dark presence, like it was chasing him. Perhaps it was.  
In a matter of seconds, he reached the outskirts of the city, sliding to a stop in the wet, dewy grass and looking back towards the city. "So...Where do we start?"

Wind's voice responded, now seeming to echo in his head and much louder than it had been in the mirror. _A simple blast of air..._

"Are you sure a blast of air's really gonna do something against people with armor and swords?"

_Have you ever stood behind a jet engine? Yours will be like that, but two to three times that force._

Sonic was still for a moment, then a smile crept onto his face. "Alright. How do I do it?"

_The thing with air is that while it's not the most physcial element, it is one of the most versatile. To use it, you must use your imagination. Make a fist, and imagine air building up like a charging plasma blast from a gun barrel._

Sonic formed a fist, imagining it powering up and feeling the air brushing against his gloves.

_Then throw your fist out and fire!_

Sonic did as told, and his smile widened as he threw the blast in front of him, and it not only blasted blades of grass into the air, but slammed into a nearby rock and left a serious crater in the side. "Cool...! What else?"

_That's up to you, Sonic. Combine your speed with your air attacks, and be inventive. As long as you're not in space, air is always at your disposal. And there's one more thing, it's about your-_

The conversation was cut short as out of nowhere, three soldiers in black armor appeared, weapons drawn. "Sorry, Professor. Class is over for now..." Sonic whispered.

"Autumn Wind..." One of the soldiers sneered. "...A pleasure, as always."

"Wish I could say the same." Sonic replied, managing to keep his composure as he overlooked his new adversaries. Two were about his size and had swords, and the third was significantly larger, with a club. But he recognized the one that had spoken... The one who'd killed Nephrite for rebelling. "...Care to introduce yourselves?"

"Why?" The other smaller Obsidian asked.

"Oh, you know... So I know exactly which Obsidian butts I kicked this morning."

"Confident, are we?"

"Maybe just a little. Must bug you, though. To think you had gotten rid of us, only to have us come right back. Kinda makes your efforts pointless, doesn't it?"

The soldier's grip on his blade's hilt tightened. "We destroyed you once, we'll do it again!"

"Oh please," Wind responded, using Sonic's mouth to speak. "You and I _both_ know Charge took you out before the battle even really got started, Jasper."

"He's right." The larger soldier asked.

"Enough!" Jasper shouted. "You're the only Amethyst active, so you can't summon your allies to you. You're outnumbered, so just accept your fate, and we'll kill you quickly."

Sonic smirked. "Nah." Then he threw both hands forward, having built up blasts the entire time they'd been bantering back and forth. Jasper and the other were thrown a few hundred yards away, but it had only knocked the larger one over. "Okay, now what?"

_Tactic 2, go where they can't reach you._

"Which would be- Whoa!" He dodged a swing by the club, flipping backwards a few times. "Which would be what?" He finished.

_Go airborne._

"Well last I checked, I can't actually fly unless I'm using the Chaos Emeralds to go Super Sonic." He formed a shield in front of himself to block another swing. "What's your solution to that problem?"

_We'll go over that later. Spindash him in the face when he goes for another swing!_

Sonic nodded, waiting a moment before jumping up and slamming into the larger knight's face. He hit the ground on the other side with a yelp, feeling himself before looking back. "I-I just-" his panicking ceased as he saw the knight had turned into a puff of smoke, being swept away by the breeze. "...He turned into smoke... Okay. For a second I was afraid I had completely blown through his head!"

_You kind of _did_... Here come Jasper and Onyx._

Sonic turned back towards the two that had been blown away. "Back for more?"

"He's a novice and he's already taken down Tourmaline!?" Onyx shouted.

Sonic dug his feet into the dirt. "You know it...!" He shot forward, throwing a lesser gust into their faces to disorient them. He kicked Onyx to the side and blasted him into the rock he'd tested on prior, forcing the Obsidian to disappear in a puff of smoke. "That's just a little disturbing."

_They'll just reform back in the World of Darkness._

"Well that makes me feel- Whoa!" He dodged a swing by Jasper, then formed a blade out of air that surprisingly met and stopped Jasper's next attempt. "Cool...!"

They pulled away from each other, getting into fighting stances.  
"It's just the two of us now...!" Jasper hissed. "...You may have taken out Tourmaline and Onyx, but I don't need them to end you!"

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "Good luck, Jasper... Now that I know I'm not really killing you guys, I'm not gonna hold back!"  
Their duel resumed, both of them swinging and blocking each other's attacks. "Not bad. Have you ever considered a career in butchery?"

"Isn't that what I'm doing...!?"

One stab shot past Sonic's ear, and he stumbled back, putting a hand to his head and bringing back some blood on his fingers. _Too close...!_  
He vaulted into a spindash, air building around him as he uncurled at the last minute and slashed his razor wind blade into Jasper at full force. His feet slammed into the ground, and he looked behind him as the third Obsidian disappeared as smoke in the wind before collapsing into the grass.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the stinging coming from his cut. "...Well _that_ was fun..." He whispered.

_But this is only the beginning...They'll be better prepared for your abilities next time._

"Well then," He sat up again. "I guess I'll just have to do more research on them, too...Now, let's head back to the house. I didn't eat before all of this mess and I'm starved..."


	5. Rendezvous

"...Rain. Why out of all of the weather patterns it could've done today, nature chose rain?"

Sonic stumbled a little as Knuckles elbowed him as they wandered the path. "I thought you said you weren't afraid of water anymore..."

"I'm not afraid of water." Sonic adjusted his hood as a few drops fell onto his nose. "...Doesn't mean I like being wet..."

"I don't think anybody likes being wet against their will." Amy added. "Or cold... Or both at the same time."

"Oh stop your complaining." Tails replied, not even looking up from his tablet. "We're almost there."

Sonic shook more water from his coat. It had been three days since he'd beaten the trio of Obsidians sent to kill him for being the vessel of an ancient power, the Amethyst Autumn Wind. So far, he hadn't felt any more attacks on the immediate horizon. However, he _had_ been injured in that fight, and he knew that they would come back better prepared. He needed to prepare and learn more about _them_, as well...

...It was time to talk to Howlite again.

As they reached the top of the ridge and saw the village down below, he couldn't help but sense the sadness Autumn Wind felt when he saw this place. He put a hand on his own shoulder, as if it could somehow comfort the second consciousness now residing in his body.

"It looks so...depressing." Amy mumbled as they made their way forward. This was her first time entering the ruins, and she clung to Sonic's arm as they walked down the ridge into the clearing.

"It is..." Sonic murmured. "...Personally, I think we should make a memorial here somewhere for the previous roster."

Amy held his arm a little tighter. "I think that's a great idea..."

"What I don't understand is if they were all killed, then why aren't there any bodies lying around?" Knuckles asked.

Tails looked up from his tablet. "It's been a thousand years, Knux. They've most likely decomposed and been reduced to dust by now."

"Or maybe some kind soul buried them somewhere..." Amy suggested, though it seemed like it was very unlikely.

Sonic pulled away from Amy, walking up to the obelisk and placing his hands on it. The symbols glowed once again, the light passed over Sonic, and the door opened. "Down we go."

"Good time for it, too. The rain's picking up." Knuckles replied as he passed the hedgehog and walked down the stairs into the darkness.

Sonic took up the rear as they walked down the steps, and Amy paused a few times to look at the murals as Tails gave her a short explanation of what the murals were portraying.

After a few minutes, they entered the room at the bottom, and Sonic placed his hands on the stone in the center. This time, there was no shock to his hands, and the light once again lit up the space.

_The only place untouched..._ Wind's voice murmured in Sonic's head. _...It's like it never happened._

Sonic put his hand on his shoulder again as he looked around. The person they'd come to see was not here. "...Howlite?"

"Where'd he go?" Tails murmured.

"It's not like he could've left." Knuckles muttered, then raised his hands to his mouth. "Yo Howlite, where'd you go!?"

They then all covered their ears as his voice echoed off of the walls.

_Ah...! Good heavens, Red!_ A familiar voice complained. _Easy on the volume!_

They turned to the wall, where the fox was stumbling out of one of the houses in the painting, also covering his ears.

"Howlite!" Tails came up to the painting. "Sorry, you just weren't out here like last time."

_Yeah, yeah..._ Howlite muttered, then he looked up at Sonic and grinned. _Well hello, Autumn Wind!_

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... About three days ago. Got ambushed by Jasper, Onyx and Tourmaline."

_All three? Wow, good job on surviving._ Howlite rubbed his chin. _They always attacked solo before, though... Dominus must want to finish the Amethysts off quickly...Can't say I blame him, it took them twenty years last time, enough time for the Amethysts to get married and have kids, and-_

Wind took over for a moment as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, we know..."

Howlite sighed, _It's been such a long time since I last saw the flip-flopping between Amethyst and host..._

"Flip-Flopping?" Amy asked.

Howlite nodded. _Over time, the minds and memories of host and Amethyst merge into a single entity. That's why the slaughtering of the previous took such a toll on the Amethysts. Had their previous hosts died naturally, the Amethysts would have had time to split from the host, but they were ripped free instead, and it left them seriously weakened._

Amy took Sonic's arm. "So...Sonic won't be himself anymore...?"

"It won't happen for a while..." Wind murmured. "...But yes."

Amy looked at the floor, "Suddenly I'm not on-board with this..."

Sonic took Amy's hands, squeezing them a little. "I'll still love you, Amy. I promise."

"Thanks for the comfort, Sonic..."

"Howlite, what's the Obsidians' weakness?" Tails asked. "What can we do to defeat them?"

_The number one advantage the Amethysts have is that they can fly while the Obsidians cannot._

"Wind mentioned that before..." Sonic murmured. "How do we fly?"

Sonic jumped as Wind took over, then a flash of light washed over him for a moment. When it vanished, Sonic had regained control, but was now wearing brown boots, gloves and vest, and on his back was a pair of large, feathered wings.

_Like that._ Wind replied.

"Cool...!" Tails reached out and felt the wings. "They're real!"

"Of course they're real!" Sonic replied, flapping them a few times before folding them against his shoulders. "But I'll need to go back up to the surface to practice with them."

"The rain will let up eventually." Knuckles replied. "And then we can see just how fast you can fly with those things!"

Amy giggled. "My angel of Air."

Sonic blushed. "I'm no angel, Ames...Just a hero with wings..." He kissed her forehead, then turned back to Howlite. "I'm going to find the other Amethysts, and we will stop Lord Dominus and his army."

_Good man...Don't hesitate to come and ask for advice, Sonic... I have a feeling you will need it..._

* * *

"...Tails, what is this for?"

Tails looked up from the screen. "I figured that since the other Amethysts were made by the same person, they most likely have a similar energy signature to Wind. So if I scan in the signature from you, then I should be able to scan for any other pockets of similar energy and locate the other Amethysts."

"Can you _do_ that?" Sonic murmured, though really to Wind.

Wind gave a shrug, "We didn't have this kind of technology a thousand years ago, so who knows?"

"Okay, now hold still."

Sonic didn't move as Tails ran a device over him, "What if the others are dormant and aren't giving off a signature?"

"Then we'll pick it up when they _do_!"

"So would _I_, theoretically..."

"Chill, I'm just trying to simplify the process."

Sonic rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Sometimes I think your dependence and fascination with tech is going to get you into trouble one day, Tails."

"Tell me that again when I win a prize for making a machine that results in World Peace."

"How about a cannon that blows Eggman up? That'll provide_ lots_ of peace!"

Tails smirked, then went back to his screen. "Okay, you can go out and practice with your wings now. I'm gonna take a trip back up to the ruins."

"Why?"

"Take a look around, see if there's anything left besides that chamber under the obelisk." He grinned, "Don't you want me to get into other hobbies besides technology?"

Sonic smirked, and then ruffled his little brother's hair. "Alright, just stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Okay..." The two walked out into the yard, and Tails climbed onto his bicycle. "I still can't figure out how nobody found those ruins before."

"Maybe someone did and they just kept it a secret... I'm more surprised that it wasn't turned into a gangster hangout."

"Yeah...See you later, Sonic."

Sonic waved as Tails hurried off down the road, and he took off at a run in the opposite direction, towards downtown. "So...Where do we go...? Ooh, I've got the _perfect_ plan! Just wait, Wind, this'll be _fun_...!"


	6. The Obelisk's Wrath

The ruins were just as empty and lonely as before, but this time, Tails was prepared. He pulled his notepad out of his backpack, overlooking the clearing. "Okay..."

**_Day 1. Despite the ruins having been here for centuries, the general layout seems to be almost completely intact. The majority of the remaining structures are made of large stones, which I can only guess how they were moved here. Perhaps one of the Amethysts can control stone?_**

He walked down further into the clearing. **_Obelisk is the only structure still in one piece. Several buildings collapsed, others missing a few walls but otherwise intact. Hole on edge of the clearing suggests a well for their main source of water._**

He peered in the door of one of the more intact buildings, his eyes catching on a slab of stone overlooking the rest of the camp from a large carved hole that must act as a window.

Tails walked over to the slab and blew off the dust, his eyes widening as he looked at it closer. "...A console...?"

It did look like a console for something, with little crystals embedded in it and resembling lights, and a series of holes that looked like were meant for fingers to go into. "These guys were more advanced than I thought..." He searched for a power source, but saw none, and he had a feeling the crystals weren't the power either. "I'd take this back to the shop for study, but that might be stealing... How long does something have to be left before it's considered archeology and not grave-robbing, anyway?"

"That's not important."

Tails jumped at the familiar voice, then yelped as a metal claw wrapped around his torso and pulled him out of the ruin. "Hey! Put me down!"

He struggled as his eyes met with Eggman's. "Eggman...! What do you want!?"

"Not much... Just a little world domination. Don't think that I haven't noticed you and the blue pincushion spending a lot of time here... What are you hiding?"

Tails' eyes narrowed. "Like I'd tell _you_." He struggled more, then watched as Eggman hovered down towards the ruins. "I-I wouldn't go in there, the whole place is booby-trapped."

"Oh don't give me that! You should know you can't fool a genius! Even if it was booby-trapped, you would have already set them off."

Tails fought to get loose as Eggman moved towards the console. Powerless or not, that console may still pose a threat, especially if Eggman figured out whatever it did.

Not to mention Sonic would kill him if he let Eggman break anything.

"Well well well...What is this?" Eggman ran his fingers over the console, his lips curling back into that grin of satisfaction he always gave when he thought he was winning.

Tails managed to pry the robot hand's grip just enough to drop to the ground once more, and frantically took off as the robot tried to stomp on him. He had to do something, anything, to keep Eggman from learning about the Amethyst Culture...And especially from discovering the chamber beneath them.

The stomp shook the ground, and Eggman turned only to see the robot aiming its blaster at Tails who was running full speed towards him. "What!? No! Hold your fire! Hold-"

The robot was in no mood to hesitate. In fact, it was in no mood at all. All it 'knew' was that its prisoner had escaped and that was unacceptable. Both Tails and Eggman dropped to the floor at it fired, Tails finding cover under part of a collapsed wall.

The blast hit the console and seemed to absorb it. For a moment, there was only silence, then the crystals lit up and a blast from outside was followed by an explosion as an energy blast hit the robot and blew it to pieces.

More energy blasts were fired, hitting the shrapnel and melting it into puddles.

"My robots!" Eggman shouted, rushing outside and dodging blasts, which Tails could now see were coming from the top of the obelisk. "Retreat!"

The metallic enforcers hurried after Eggman as he flew through the barrage, some not making it out of the clearing before being melted.

Tails ran to the console, searching for a way to shut down the obelisk turret, but there were no buttons, switches or levers. "Come on...! There has got to be some way to shut this thing down..._GYAH_!"  
Tails yelped as the turret fired at him through the window, ducking underneath the console and pulling out his communicator as the turret seemed to fire erratically around the ruins. "S-Sonic! Sonic, come in!"

* * *

_...This hardly seems like a good idea, Sonic._

"Yeah well, I think it's a pretty good idea..."

Sonic stood on the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the street below. Nobody down there knew he was watching them from above, or what he was about to do. "Torrent City Tower is the highest point in the city. I jump from up here, and I'll definitely catch a draft and fly up over the city. No problem!"

_Or, you'll drop like a rock, and I'll have to step in and save your dumb behind._

"Hey. My body, my plan." Sonic took a few steps back. "...One..."

_What was I thinking?_

"Two..."

_I should've gone with a shoemaker again, not some reckless-_

"Three!"

Sonic shot forward, unfolding his wings and then jumping free of the roof. He fell only for a moment, before his wings caught the breeze and he righted himself, taking off over the streets with an excited hoot. "YEEEHAH! This is fantastic! I've flown as Super Sonic, but never with wings!"

_Then how are you already so good at it?_

Sonic shrugged. "Watching the birds, I guess?... Whoa!" He twisted up as he nearly crashed into the windows of another building. He flapped hard to keep in place for a moment, and then changed direction. "But I wouldn't say I'm an expert yet..."

_Obviously..._

Sonic blushed, and then broke free of the skyscrapers to fly in the open air. "Can all of the Amethysts fly?"

_Indeed. It is their most primary defense._

"Gotcha..."

**S-Sonic! Sonic, come in!** Tails' voice hollered from their communicator.

"Tails?" Sonic pulled out the communicator. "What's up?"

**I-Gyah!** Tails ducked on the screen as a bolt of energy flew past him.** I need your help! Eggman showed up at the ruins and activated some sort of security system!**

"Eggman's at the ruins!?"

**Not anymore. He left when it started melting his bots! Just get here and shut this thing off!**

"Hold on, Tails! I'm on my way!" Sonic took off across the city, wings flapping hard as he picked up speed. "Wind, what do you know about this security system?"

_Winter Charge designed a security measure that was supposed to take in his electrical powers and use it to defend the camp from invaders, but it must've absorbed the energy from Eggman's plasma blasts and utilized that as a power source._

"Great. How do we turn it off?"

_Normally Charge would just deactivate it with his powers, but he did set up a backup shutoff switch in case he was harmed and couldn't shut it off himself._

"Great. I'm gonna let you take the reins for now."

For just a split moment, the hedgehog's body went limp as he and Wind swapped places, but then they shot forward, faster and faster until Sonic found himself going as fast in the air as he could running on the ground. "This is awesome...!"

_I appreciate that..._

* * *

Tails remained curled up under the console, his namesake appendages curled up around him tightly. The firing had ceased for now, but if he moved from that spot, he knew they'd lock on his position and fire on him again. He'd tried that earlier and been herded by the blasts right back under it. His hands covered his ears, afraid to make any noise and alert it.

He slowly moved and pulled out his notepad, quickly scribbling in it._** Day 1 continued. I have discovered firsthand that the Amethyst race **_**did**_** possess a form of security to defend their home besides their powers or traditional weapons. An energy turret that is currently active. I have found no way to deactivate it, and it is preventing me from searching further. Hopefully Sonic can-**_

He paused as he heard wing beats, but didn't dare move.

"...Tails?" A familiar voice asked.

"Over _here_...!" Tails hissed.

After a moment, Sonic appeared, his wings outstretching to cover the fox's hiding place. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...Just shaken..." Tails hesitated a moment, and then crawled up under Sonic's wings. "...It's not firing."

"No. It won't attack an Amethyst." Sonic helped him stand up on his feet again, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Just stay under here until we can activate the killswitch."

"There's a killswitch? Thank Chaos...! Where?"

"Over there."

Sonic pointed to another building, and Tails groaned. He'd have to make his way across the clearing without being hit.

"Chill out, Tails. We can make it."

"Okay..."

The pair moved from the room and slowly out into the clearing. The light of the obelisk moved over onto Sonic, and Tails stiffened up, but it didn't fire.

"You're okay, you're okay..." Sonic whispered to his little brother as they moved, step by step.

Sonic finally reached the other building, and went over to a wall, where a handprint was plastered into the wall.

Tails ducked lower as Sonic leaned over him, then the hedgehog's eyes glowed orange as he placed his hand on the print and spoke a series of words. Tails wrote down the words into his notepad, for future reference. After a few seconds, the light of the obelisk faded, and Sonic retracted his wings out from over Tails. "Phew..._That_ was close."

"Did Eggman take anything?" Sonic asked, turning the topic back to the reason the security had been activated in the first place.

"Not that I know of. He was trying to get me to tell him what we're going here, but I didn't say anything."

"Just the same, we should look around." Wind replied as he gained control. "There could still be weapons here that we can't have Eggman getting his hands on."

"What kind of weapons?"

"Energy Pulsars, Dimension-Tearing Blades, etc. Anything we can find that is still intact should be placed down in the Bunker with Howlite. We'll go together, in case any more security systems come up."

Tails nodded in agreement, and the pair began their search. The more they searched the ruins, the more remnants of the previous inhabitants they found: Broken clay cups, tattered blankets, paintings decorating the leftover parts of sleeping quarters.

As they wandered, Tails could hear Sonic mumbling to himself, probably talking with Wind about things they found. The further they went into the ruins however, the longer the hedgehog would stay in a space, just holding the broken objects and looking at them sadly. He kept putting his hand on his shoulder as if trying to comfort Wind, whispering things Tails couldn't quite catch.

Eventually Tails paused. "Do you need a minute? I mean... Does _he_ need a minute?"

The hedgehog looked up from the blanket he'd been running his fingers over, his eyes shifting to orange. "...Just a few... Thank you, Miles."

Tails nodded, stepping back into the hall. He leaned back against the wall, not saying a word as he heard sobs suddenly break through the hedgehog.

Even if it wasn't really Sonic, it still brought tears to Tails' own eyes. Wind wasn't just some new energy that Sonic had absorbed to gain more power, he was a whole other soul that had lost everyone he cared about and never been given the chance to really mourn them until now. The words leaving his mouth were not intelligible, but Tails didn't know if it was another language or if he was just unable to speak coherently.

After a few minutes, the sobs eased and then ceased, and he heard Wind thank Sonic for giving him that time. Sonic came back out, wiping tears from his face. "Man...I_ felt_ that..." He whispered.

Tails placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "...You're _both_ going to be okay..." He whispered.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah...I know... This is enough for now. I don't think Wind has the strength to do this any more today."

"Okay...Then let's go home."


	7. The Second Awakening

**What's your status?**

"I've found his main lab... How much time do we have?"

**A few minutes tops.**

"Hmph, plenty of time... I don't see how you can sit in these air ducts for days on end, Rouge. It's _very_ uncomfortable."

Rouge's laughter ran through Shadow's commlink as he scooted himself through the narrow passages that ran through Eggman's base. With the villain out of the house, for the time being, it was a perfect time for a reconnaissance mission to uncover his latest plan. So far, that mission had led to Shadow squeezing himself up into the air duct and crawling through it towards the center of his operation, while Rouge and Omega distracted the robot guards.

The hedgehog peered through the grate for any signs of robot security, and then knocked it loose and dropped down to the floor. "Okay...Remind me again why _I'm_ the one who had to infiltrate this place instead of _you_?"

**I thought the high and mighty Ultimate Lifeform could do _anything_.**

"Just because I can_ do_ something, that doesn't mean I'm particularly_ good_ at it."

**Just plug the PDA into the console and let it do the work, Grumpy-Quills. Omega's having a field day out here.**

"Of course he is...Standby for file transfer."

Shadow pulled the PDA out of his bag and after finding a port, plugged it into the computer. "Everything downloaded to this site's computer, everything he's working on. New robots, locations of upcoming bases and attacks..."

**Have no problem with your family being the enemy, huh?**

"The Doctor and I are hardly family. His grandfather may have created me, but that by no means makes him my nephew."

**Now there's a family tree that I'd like to see.**

Shadow rolled his eyes, and then pulled the PDA out as it finished its upload. "Alright, I'm finished. I'll meet you-"

"DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Shadow paused, his ears pricking as he heard the cry of a child. "What the..."

**What is it, Shadow?**

"...Hold that thought. I'm checking something out."

Shadow looked around the lab, searching for the source of the cry. "... Is someone there?"

There was an almost absolute silence that followed. Ringing echoed in Shadow's ears as they tried to find anything to hear, any feedback to pick up. Then all at once it was shattered by a loud roar as a shape came barreling out of the wall and knocking Shadow into the opposite wall. Shadow gave a grunt and then ducked as they swung at him. "Metal Sonic...!"

The robot hedgehog's glowing red gaze showed no emotion as it shot forward once more, scratching deep into the wall as Shadow dodged.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow threw the bolts at his adversary, but it spun out of the way. It grabbed Shadow's wrists and knocked him to the floor, Shadow fired the rockets on his shoes into the robot's torso engine, sending smoke sputtering out of its back. With a strong shove he ripped the robot's left arm out of its socket and then began beating its helm with it.

**Shadow, what is going on in there?**

"Kinda busy, Rouge. Gotta call you back!" Shadow hissed as he dodged another lunge. Alarms were going now as their battle broke monitors and consoles, the lights casting a bright red glow down into the lab.

_**Self-Destruct Sequence initiated.**_

Shadow cursed under his breath as he knocked Metal away. "I don't have time for this...!"

Metal Sonic pulled itself back up, sparks flying from its joints and its visor cracked, but it was by now mean down. Shadow prepared for another attack, but then a loud crash brought his attention to behind him in time for a large sheet of metal off of the wall to come crashing down on top of him. His vision cut out for a brief moment, and when it returned, he was pinned to the floor by Metal Sonic.

_**Detonation in 5...4...**_

Shadow tasted metal in his mouth, but he wasn't sure if it was actual metal or blood. But he felt a surge of energy growing inside of his chest, but it was like nothing he'd felt before.

_**...3...2...**_

_DAMMIT!_ An unfamiliar voice screamed from seemingly everywhere.

**_...1._**

Shadow screamed as green energy shot out of him in all directions, and then he felt himself falling as darkness swallowed him. He yelped as he crashed onto what must be the floor of the level below him, but when he sat up, he found the ground was stone, and voices echoed off of the walls from down the hall he was in. "What...?"

He grimaced as he got up to his feet, limping down the hall towards the voices. They seemed familiar, and yet he couldn't identify them. He paused at the edge of the hall, pressing against the wall to avoid being seen as he peered into the room where the voice was coming from.

"This is a serious situation. You have to tell everyone to evacuate the village, they'll _listen_ to you!"

The figures were in shadow and unrecognizable, but they seemed to be in an argument.

"And what if this is just another small raid? We'll be on the run with _no_ proper defense _or_ housing."

"Thaw, _please_... You know that I would never come straight to you unless it was serious! If we stay, we risk losing everything! Our lives, our children! We can flee to the Nest for a while, and regroup. I'm begging you, order the evacuation before its too late...!"

Shadow's ears pricked as he heard a commotion back the way he'd come, and he hurried in that direction, but then found himself falling once more. He heard terrified screams and the clang of metal blades, and then silence, before the darkness was ripped apart with a terrible screeching. "Augh!"

**Shadow.**

Shadow's eyes fluttered open, grimacing at the sudden bright light shining in his face and then a pair of hands holding his arms down. "Augh...! O...Omega...?"

**You are only moderately damaged...It defies logic.**

Shadow struggled to look past the light and saw Rouge was the one holding him down. "W-What do you mean...?"

"Shadow, you were sealed in molten metal from the laboratory floor." Rouge informed, "You should have been irreversibly burned, if not _incinerated_!"

Shadow smirked, "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, aren't I...?"

He tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea and dizziness knocked him back down. "...I..."

**You are still damaged. You must be taken back to GUN for repairs.**

"I..." Shadow looked at his teammates, knowing that there wasn't any way for him to win this fight. "...Okay."

"Come on, Soldier..."

Rouge pulled her teammate up, allowing Omega to carry him. Shadow stared up at the robot's emotionless gaze, but his mind was on what he'd seen. Who had those villagers been? What were they hiding from?...

...And why did it feel like he'd been personally involved?

* * *

"...This is boring."

_This is important, Sonic. Stay focused._

Sonic opened his eyes, looking at the bed that was currently upside down as he stood on his hands against the wall of his bedroom. "Wind, I have been like this for almost ten minutes. My head's probably about to explode from too much blood, and I still don't feel any stronger than I was before."

_This isn't about strength of body, it's about strength of concentration. The more focused you are, the easier it'll be to find the other Amethysts before the Obsidians do._

Sonic groaned, closing his eyes again. The novelty of having new powers and a mission to save the world was fading, being replaced with an irritation that he had another voice in his head telling him what to do and he couldn't just walk out of the room and ignore them. Still, he was curious how doing a handstand was supposed to help him focus on anything but how his arms were shaking.

A flash of green then hit his eyes, along with the air being knocked out of his lungs by seemingly nothing that broke his concentration. He yelped as he fell forward, his feet hitting the bed and his arms twisting to hold him up and keep him from hitting his head on the floor. "Whoa!...Whoa..." He panted. "...You feel that?"

_I did._ Wind replied, _It was another manifestation...A Spring._

"A what?"

_I'm Autumn Wind, see? One of the four Autumn Amethysts, but there are also others for other seasons._

"Four plus four plus... If there are four per season and four seasons altogether, then that's only sixteen. What's the other four?"

_They're named after natural events that occur at certain times. This was a Spring Amethyst...And I know who his host is._

"You do? Great. So I can stop sending all of the blood to my brain?"

_Yes... _The amethyst grumbled, but about what? ..._We need to get there before the Obsidians do._

"Good plan." Sonic flipped back up onto his feet, putting his hands on his hips. "You'd better take over the controls, you're still better at this flying thing than I am."

_Very well..._

* * *

"No broken bones...But a concussion, minor burns, plenty of cuts and bruises, and a high fever." Rouge shook her head as she overlooked Shadow's condition, "...You really are something else, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow grimaced as he tried to sit up, "S-So I'm good to go-"

"Oh no, you don't." Rouge nudged the hedgehog right back down, "You are staying right here in bed, Mister."

**Your injuries may not be life-threatening, but they are still severe enough to suggest proper rest.** Omega agreed.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "I've bounced back from worse..."

"Yes, with_ rest_." Rouge took his hand, clasping it in between her own. "Please...Tomorrow at least."

"You worry about me too much."

"And you don't worry about your own safety _enough_." She smiled, "You spend all your time protecting others but never doing anything for yourself."

"That wasn't my given mission..." Shadow relaxed, resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes. "...Maria told me to protect this world... I can't let her down."

"And not letting yourself recover would probably let her down." Rouge patted his hand and then stood up. "Get some rest, Omega's going to be watching over your room whether you like it or not, so if you try to bolt, he'll know."

Shadow gave a glare at the giant robot, but then finally gave up trying to argue with them. He didn't really feel like he could make it out of the room right now anyway, to be honest. "Fine...Tomorrow."

"Good." Rouge started towards the door. "I'll be back here tomorrow morning, and you'd better at least still be in the medical bay when I do."

"Uh-huh..."

Shadow closed his eyes and gave a sigh as his teammates left the room, only the beeping of medical equipment and the ticking of the clock now filling the air. "...I hate hospitals..." He whispered, and then quickly slipped into a deep sleep.


	8. Debriefing

Shadow knew he was fast asleep, but that didn't stop him from having another odd dream.

This time, he was in a quiet hall of a building of some sort, red carpet on the floor and deep chestnut wood paneling lining the walls. The lantern lights on the walls flickered, and the air smelled of some sort of perfume. Everything seemed so antique, but also expensive like he was in an old manor that should have maids and servants wandering the corridors. But unlike the halls of the village, this space was eerily quiet.

"Hello?" He called out, stepping out of one hall and finding himself at a double staircase, leading down into a large entryway. An odd humming echoed down the halls, but no voices or footsteps were heard. "...Is anyone here?" His own voice echoed in the emptiness, left unanswered.

He descended the staircase, looking around the mansion he found himself in. "Where am I...? And why am I here...?"

Shadow ran a finger along the banister of the stairs, finding no dust. If it had been abandoned for a long time, then there would be dust, which meant someone was keeping up the place.

His eyes caught movement, and he looked in the direction, seeing a ghostly, glowing figure standing by the fireplace, fingering through a book. The longer Shadow looked at them, the more their form became more distinct...and more familiar. "It _can't_ be... Maria?"

Maria paused, looking in his direction and giving him a knowing grin before setting the book down on the mantle. "I am not she..." she answered in a gentle tone.

"Then who _are_ you? Why do you take her form?"

"I did not choose this form. You will see me as someone you look up to, it is how things transpire...You all will see me as someone different, whomever your mind decides is best."

Shadow's eyebrows furrowed, "That still doesn't answer my question."

Maria sighed, "So many questions, and yet you never look within to find the answers... They need you."

"Who? Who needs me?"

"Find them, my child...You need them as much as they need you."

Shadow felt panic flaring, but why? He found his legs moving, backing away from the figure before turning and rushing towards the front doors. He fought to stop himself, but his legs refused to respond; it was like a whole different person was controlling his limbs. He flung the doors open and Shadow saw nothing but clouds on every side of the front of the mansion, and he tried with all his might to stop, but then he leaped off of the platform. He hovered for a moment, but then once more found himself falling.

The bright clouds disappeared as he landed on something solid, and he found himself on the floor of the dark hospital hall...And a being in black armor stood over him with a blade raised to strike. He gasped, and then a blast of energy hit the knight from behind and they yelped, falling forward onto the floor.

Shadow scrambled up to his feet again, wincing at the pain it brought him. "What the hell...!?"

**You are yourself again.** Omega informed as he fired at the knight again.

"W-What do you mean...?"

**You were not yourself moments ago. I have no records of you ever being in terror prior to two point four minutes ago when this being infiltrated your room.**

Shadow stared at the knight as they got up, blocking another shot from Omega with their blade. He had no memory of leaving his hospital room or seeing this knight inside the room with him. Had he gone into some sort of trance? "Who are you!?" He demanded.

The knight chuckled, "I never thought you'd run away like a coward...You're _hardly_ the soldier I remember, Amethyst. Your mechanical associate won't save you."

**Negative.** Omega pulled more of his weapons out of his arms and shoulders, **I will obliterate you.**

"Not_ here_, Omega." Shadow hissed, "You'll send every other patient in the medical bay sky-high!"

**Do you have a better alternative? Kzzk-!**

Omega shuddered as the knight slashed a bolt of energy through the air from his blade and it hit him in the chassis, and then the robot collapsed to the floor with a thud.

"Omega!" Shadow turned back to his opponent with a growl, "You're going to_ regret_ that...!"

"Hiding again, are we? Too late!"

Shadow ducked to avoid a swing from the knight and then fired a bolt of chaos energy into his armor. The knight yelped, but it appeared to do nothing more than shock him. Before Shadow could go for a different attack he was pinned to the ground once more by his neck. "Awk-!"

"You're still an incredible disappointment, Thaw..."

Shadow grimaced as his head spun once more, the grip on his throat tightening, and then he saw a piece of metal go through the knight's torso. The knight stared forward in horror and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shadow waved the smoke out of his face as he coughed and tried to sit up, wondering who'd just come to his rescue.

"Eww...Still gross."

Shadow knew that voice, and also the bright blue quills of the hero who now wielded a dirty coat hanger pole and looked at it with disgust. "S-Sonic...!"

Sonic turned back to him, and then bent down to hold his hand out. "Dude, you okay?"

"F-Fine...!" Shadow rasped, rubbing his neck with one hand and letting Sonic pull him up with the other. "W-What're you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, stopping that guy from turning you into hedgehog strips."

"You know who he was?"

Sonic shook his head, "But I know where he came from, _and_ that he'll be _back_." He walked over to Omega and gently kicked his foot, "Hey, wake up, Big Guy."

Omega's optics flickered back on, and he sat up, holding his cannons out.** Where is our attacker? Did I incinerate his corpse?**

"Afraid not. He kinda...Went, poof."

**This is unacceptable. I have been robbed of my violent victory.**

"Yeah, sorry..." Sonic sighed, "You _sure_ you're okay, Shadow?"

Shadow nodded at first, but then after a moment, shook his head. "...I'm having odd dreams, and I need answers."

"Trust me, I know all about that, and I know somebody who can help...But right now, I think you should get back to where you're supposed to be before Rouge finds out you're sleepwalkin' and that Omega didn't stop you."

He started to walk away but then paused, his voice lowering as he turned back towards his rival. "Meet me at the flower shop on the corner of Central and Fifth at noon tomorrow." and then he bolted out of the hall in a flash of blue and a gust of air.

Shadow's eyes narrowed as he nodded. "Noon...Good plan."

* * *

"Okay, so the short version is this: Chaos and another guy named Dominus were both in love with a girl, but she picked Chaos. Dominus made a bunch of guys called Obsidians to kill Chaos and take over the world, but the girl, Hopeful, made her own soldiers called Amethysts to help Chaos defend the world from Dominus' attacks. The Amethysts need hosts in order to interact with the world, which is where we come in and why that Obsidian came after you last night."

Shadow shook his head in disbelief, eyebrows furrowed. "...How long have I been a host?"

Sonic shrugged, looking ahead as they wandered through the trees. "I was the last host chosen, and that was only two weeks or so ago. But it's our job to find the other hosts and wake up the Amethysts inside of them before the Obsidians take them out again. It's going to take all twenty of us to stop Dominus completely."

"Twenty...So we're ten percent done."

Shadow followed the blue hedgehog down the tiny path through the wood, and then stopped as they reached the clearing. The broken buildings, the obelisk standing in the center like a lone sentinel, it was all familiar to the amethyst that now held him in place before dropping to his knees. Fear, pain, sorrow, it was all pulsing through his body, but it was not his emotions...It was _theirs_.

Sonic noticed this, and he stopped, turning back before his eyes shifted to a glowing orange. "I know... Come on," He pulled Shadow back up to his feet, "We're going through _together_."

Step by step, they wandered into the ruins, the ruins that Shadow now recognized as the village where the Amethysts had once dwelled. One thing bothered him, however; if the Amethysts were made to fight the Obsidians and protect this world, and had been fighting them for centuries, then why had_ his_ amethyst fled in terror when one showed up?

Sonic led them to the Obelisk and then opened the door to the stairwell before leading the way down. Shadow pushed forward despite the sense of panic building inside of his chest, his heart racing and breathing becoming quicker the deeper they went.

They finally broke out into an open room full of paintings and twenty chairs around in a circle, and Sonic walked up to one of the walls and knocked on it. "Howlite, it's me. I brought someone with me."

Shadow's eyes widened as he saw the painting on the wall move, a wolf stepping out of one of the houses and brushing himself off. '_Greetings, Autumn Wind...'_ The wolf then looked up at Shadow and then gave a bow. '_Spring Thaw, sir...'_

Shadow stepped forward a little, "A living painting...Interesting."

"Howlite knows everything about the Amethysts before us."

_'Oh, I don't know about everything...'_ Howlite blushed,_ '...But I do know a lot.'_

"Spring Thaw...He's the Amethyst that I'm the host for?"

_'You say that as if he has not introduced himself yet.'_

"He _hasn't_."  
Shadow looked to Sonic as the hedgehog muttered, his glowing eyes telling him that it was Autumn Wind speaking. "I don't think he's said a word since he woke up forty-eight hours ago. Not even a 'hello.'"

_'Odd...'_

Shadow decided to change the subject, "Howlite...Do you know something of a woman that looks different to every person? She told me that I needed to find someone, and now I think she meant the other Amethysts."

"She talked to you _personally_?" Wind whined, "No fair! She never calls _me_..."

_'That would be the Amethysts' creator, Queen Hope of the Upper Realm. No doubt she knew you'd need something to encourage you to listen to Sonic.'_

"Good plan... Do you know anything that might help us find the others?"

Howlite shook his head, '_Only that Autumn Equinox is the most vulnerable. As the youngest Amethyst, he's the least experienced and is practically an infant by our standards. He's also the only one who can forge his own body, so he doesn't need a host.'_

"We'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Sonic turned back to Shadow, "In the meantime, Wind and I will help you connect with Thaw and get access to his energy so you can fight the Obsidians off better. It may be that he's just weak from awakening so harshly."

"A harsh awakening? How so?"

"Thaw's power is melting stuff. When you were in danger, he _forced_ himself to wake up so that your body wouldn't be affected by the molten metal falling on top of you."

Shadow stared for a moment, "Of course...That makes sense... I heard a voice when that happened, but I haven't heard that voice since."

_'You must make contact with Spring Thaw if you are going to reach full power and access to the Amethyst's greatest strengths.'_ Howlite's movement slowed, '_Take care, you two...'_

The painting once again became still, and Sonic brushed shoulders with his rival. "Come on, Shadow. We have work to do."

"Yes... It appears so."


	9. The Little Flower

"...No, the turbo boosters should go _there_, Tails."

"Why there?"

"Because it'll look _cooler_ that way."

Tails groaned at his brother's remark, setting down the pen he'd been using to draw potential upgrades. "Adding turbo boosters to the _Tornado_ has nothing to do with making it look _cooler_, Sonic. And if I put the boosters there, then we'll be stuck flying in circles! Not to mention the excess energy would be building up inside of the fuselage and could potentially blow the plane to pieces in mid-air, or-"

Sonic grinned, sometimes it was fun to get Tails going on and on about his machines, even if he didn't understand most of what was being said. "Just kidding Tails, no need to get all technical on me."

Tails paused, shaking his head with a grin before looking at his watch. "Oops, I'm running late... Sorry to run, but I gotta go."

"Where're you going in such a hurry, Tails?" Amy asked as Tails got up from his chair and collected his toolbox.

"The Refugee Camp. They've been having some faulty power fluctuations, and I promised them I'd check it out."

"You mean you promised _Cosmo_ that you'd check it out."

Tails stiffened as the pink hedgehog gave him a knowing grin, and his cheeks began to burn. "W-What are you suggesting...?"

"Tails. Be real. You haven't taken your eyes off of that little rose-budded princess since she and her people got here."

"Their world was destroyed and they had to flee, and of all of the planets they pick _ours_ to seek asylum. Doesn't that intrigue you?"

Sonic smirked, gesturing to Shadow as he stepped forward. "Shadow's _half_-alien, and you're not obsessed with _him_..." He leaned against the black hedgehog, who then shifted his shoulder so that the speedster was sent falling to the floor with a thud. "Oof!...Ow."

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Shouldn't you be meditating, Autumn Wind...? Finding more of the Amethysts?"

"What, you think they're gonna pop up one after the other like crocuses in the snow?" He sat up from the floor, "What about you? Has Thaw made contact yet?"

Shadow shook his head; if anything, Spring Thaw was hiding even _deeper_. It was a hard, stiff knot in Shadow's insides that wouldn't ever go away, and whenever Shadow tried to bring them closer to the surface they dug down even deeper. It seemed as though Spring Thaw was not interested in helping save his brethren or the world.

And Rouge had no idea. Shadow had made Omega swear to secrecy after the attack in the medical bay, that nobody but Shadow himself would tell her about anything about his strange new objective. She was probably already suspicious, she may have even bugged his quarters and seen him spend hours sitting on his bed doing absolutely nothing, and she probably wondered why when Commander Tower had ordered him to take a few weeks off to recover, he hadn't immediately refused and had stood down so quickly.

None of that mattered, he would tell her when he knew_ what_ to tell her. The less people who knew about it, the safer they would be.

Sonic plopped down in the chair as Tails hurried out of the workshop and towards the _Tornado_. "So...What do you suggest we do today?"

"Wind could start by writing down the names and powers of the Amethysts for us, so we know what kind of elemental anomalies to look out for."

Sonic grinned, and then Wind took over, rapidly taking a spare piece of paper from the desk and scribbling words down on it, even separating them by season group. "And done." He informed, giving himself a high-five.

"Okay, so Wind and Thaw can be crossed off..." Shadow took the paper and pen and then circled 'Autumn Equinox', "Autumn's top priority...Powers unknown?"

Wind shrugged, "He was born _after_ the attack on the village. We were all told about him by the queen, but nobody's seen him in action."

"Great... Okay, so in the past, have any of the Amethysts followed a particular pattern in terms of personalities?"

"Well...Autumn Harvest and Winter Charge were always our 'techies,' you might say. They were always the ones to come up with new ways to defend our home, new weapons against the Obsidians that were mostly destroyed in the invasion..."

"Like the Obelisk Sonic had to rescue Tails from." Amy guessed.

"Correct...Autumn Leaf and Spring Rose tended to the little ones, South, North and Eclipse were sentries at the perimeter, Daylight, Winter Solstice and I were scouts that went out further... everyone else just did whatever needed done around the village. It was so quiet for those years, we..."

He paused, closing his eyes.

Amy patted the hedgehog's back, "Wind, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I appreciate it... Sonic, take over."

Sonic snapped back into control, shaking his head a little. "Okay...I either need to get used to that, or we need to find a less jarring way to swap."

"I'm still just glad I can tell which one I'm talking to!" Amy admitted, "Though the talking to yourself part is a little concerning sometimes."

Sonic grinned, wrapping an arm around her. "Not to worry, Amy. I'm not going anywhere..."

Shadow sighed, handing the paper to Sonic. "Keep a hold of this, maybe make some copies for others... I'm going back to the HQ before anyone comes looking for me."

"Aww...You don't want your big military buddies to know you've been hanging out with yours truly?"

"Absolutely not."

Though Shadow's tone was serious, Sonic saw the hint of a smirk, and then the black hedgehog was gone.

"What're you gonna do when he gets back at you for something you say?" Amy asked.

"Nah...He's too mature to pull revenge pranks."

_Oh, do not think you are safe..._ Wind murmured in his head, _...You're never safe..._

* * *

The best way to describe the refugee colony was a big patch of fenced-in green fields with small houses spread out across a thirty-acre space. Little white domed roofs popped up across the landscape, accompanied by gardens flourishing in the sun, and their growers milling about between them.

The Seedrian race, or the few dozen that had made it to their world, cared about nature more than anyone Tails had ever encountered, and it was no surprise, considering they were practically plants themselves. Flowers and leaves formed the 'hair' on their heads in many different ways, and the males, known as thorndrigans, even had horn-like branches protruding from their heads.

As the fox passed the security station, a few of the Petali women waved in greeting. Tails couldn't help but notice the cameras lining the tiny village, a constant reminder that though they were allowed to be here, they were always being watched. As innocent and peaceful as they seemed, the government was not fully convinced that they weren't just the precursor to later invasions.

He kept to the outskirts of the village, passing a few houses before reaching the small power station where the fluctuations were said to be coming from. Two cameras followed his movements as he opened the door and then stepped inside to check the breaker box. "Okay... Let's take a look in here..."

"Hello, Miles."

Tails jumped and nearly dropped his toolbox as the voice spoke, before turning to face the other person. "H-Hi...Hi, Princess Cosmo."

Cosmo giggled, brushing her leaves out of her face. "Sorry if I startled you, I was just coming to watch you work."

"It's not really that interesting, I'm afraid... Just moving wires around and flipping switches."

"It's more interesting than being teased by my sister and her friends," Cosmo sighed, "Being the littlest seedrian here means nobody takes me seriously."

"You'll find your place." Tails gave her a smile, "Nobody took _me_ seriously at first either, and now GUN calls me with technical questions sometimes... You all adjusting okay?"

Cosmo plopped down in the grass, plucking a few blades and then twirling them in her fingers. "...I guess... Father's having the hardest time, I think. He didn't want to flee Greengate, he wanted to fight... I know he's up late into the night, thinking about all of the people we couldn't save... The people who sacrificed their lives so the ships could escape."

"It must be hard, having to start over somewhere in a new place and feeling like you failed even though you lived to see another day..." Tails' gaze shifted to his hands as they clenched around a wrench. "...I know someone else who's dealing with that same thing... He lost everything too."

"It_ is_ hard..."

Cosmo rested her fingers down on the ground, and Tails watched as a daisy seemed to spontaneously pop up between them. "...But just like this flower, we don't always get to choose where we're planted, only how we rise up from that place."

"That's very _deep_, princess..."

Cosmo giggled as she blushed, "Yeah well...Sometimes my brain just comes up with things like that, and then a few minutes later all it can think of is '_This orange is very orange_.'"

Tails chuckled, and then returned his attention to the breaker box. "Well, they _are_ rather orange oranges... So has the power been going out at any particular time? Like maybe a faulty timer of some sort?"

"It always seems to flicker when the outdoor lights are either coming on or going out... It'll be out for a few minutes in scattered patches around the colony, and then come back on, but it's never the same patch twice in a row."

"Hmm... Good to know..."

"What's it like outside? Being able to just walk around wherever you want?"

Tails paused once more, silent for a moment. "...I guess I'd never really thought about it... I know Sonic would go insane without his freedom... Hopefully one of these days they'll let you all go beyond the colony and I can show you my favorite places in the city!"

"I'd like that."

Cosmo's head perked up as a voice called out, and she turned and gave a sigh. "My sister's calling me back... Guess I'd better go."

"Yeah... I'll see you later?"

"Possibly..."

Cosmo gave him a grin and then hurried away towards her sister's calls.

Tails smiled as he watched her run across the grass, and then realized he was supposed to be working. "R-Right... Fix the electricity, Tails. Don't let her distract you..."


	10. Revival

**What's your position?**

"Clear... Just like it's been for the past _hour_."

**Stop your whinin'. You're on lookout duty cuz you screw up everythin' else! Your name fits you, Zero...!**

Zero stuck his tongue out, even though he knew nobody could see it. He peered through the scope of his sniper rifle, watching over the street outside of their target, currently empty of civilians at this time of night. "Overconfident, pompous, piece of-"

**Don't finish that sentence.**

Zero grumbled, shutting off his communicator from his end. "It's not _my_ fault people are alive..."

That seemed to be his problem. He could take out every single test dummy and target sheet with incredible accuracy, but the second a real, living target was placed in front of him, his finger froze on the trigger. Perfect score on his skills, but a big zero on his live performance. Not a good quality for a member of the esteemed Jackal Clan, the best mercenaries in the business.

His uncle's voice grumbled through the comm. **Just watch for anything suspicious...**

"Can do..."

Zero groaned, his face settling into his hands as he stared out into the dark.

Earlier in the day, there had been a festival in the town, and now the night events were ongoing, which meant practically all the civilians were in the square and nowhere near this laboratory they'd been paid to infiltrate by a rival kingdom. The Duke of Soleanna was supposedly dabbling in some less-than-legal operations in hopes of finding immortality for his lineage, and if he had discovered it, the other dignitaries wanted it.

Zero could see the lights, and very faintly hear the crowds roaring with excitement. The Duke was making an appearance there, which meant he wasn't here to complicate the operation. Just minimal personnel were here; lab techs, security, the occasional scientist, nothing out of the- Wait a minute.

The jackal's ears pricked up and then swiveled around, had he just imagined it? He was beginning to think so when it came again, and he pulled out his comm again. "Hey... Does anyone else hear that?"

**Hear what?**

"...Nothing." Zero muttered, "Just my imagination."

**Getting jittery up there, Deadweight?**

**Stick to the mission, Loser.**

Zero sighed, "Affirmative..."

He was settling back into his position when he heard it again, louder this time; a baby crying. What the hell would a baby be doing here? He didn't know, but he _did_ have a pretty good idea of what the others might do if they found it before he did.

Abandoning his post would be putting the mission at risk, but then again, he'd seen his family in action. They could handle anyone who might poke their heads in, right?

_They'll kill me if something happens... But they might kill the kid if I don't do something... Why do I care? It's not like I know who it is...But they're just a kid..._

"Ugh! Whatever...!" He hissed, looking out the window one more time before hurrying down the steps from his post. "Just get the kid and bring him back, and figure out what to do later._ Simple_."

He listened for the cries, following them down the maze of halls, but keeping in mind how he got there so he could get back just as quickly. The lab seemed oddly empty and quiet, where was everyone? The best thing he could come up with was that the others were taking out anybody they encountered and hiding the evidence.

The cries finally led him down a flight of stairs, the air getting colder as he descended into the darkness. What could be down here?

At the bottom of the steps the air was icy cold, and his footsteps echoed off of the stone walls. It was like a tomb, empty and lifeless... Except it wasn't empty.

Zero's eyes were met by a very bright light as he opened the door at the bottom, a sharp contrast to the darkness his eyes had adjusted to. The cries were coming from inside, and Zero winced as he peered inside. Only one thing seemed to be dark amidst the spotlights; a little black mobian toddler, huddled inside of a tall glass container and weeping. "What...?"

The toddler's sobs quieted, and his massive ears pricked up as he lifted his head to look at Zero. His eyes were red from crying, and while he looked somewhat canine in appearance, there was just enough difference that Zero couldn't determine what exactly he was, other than trapped. He scrambled across to the wall of the container, pressing his tiny fingers upon the glass.

"This is taking '_Timeout_' to a new level..." Zero whispered, his eyes shifting down to the console that was attached to the container. So many buttons, no clue which one did what. "What're you _doing_ in here, Tiny?"

"Hewp...!" They whimpered, "Hewp pwease...! Pwease?"

Zero started to search the console again for the off switch in order to comply, but then stopped himself. _Why? For all I know there's a perfectly good reason why he's in this thing._

_Do you really believe that? You said you'd take him back to your post._

_That was before I knew he was locked in a..._

Zero shook his head, he was talking to himself again. "...Fine."

"Hold it! Freeze!"

Zero stiffened as he heard the shout from the stairwell, his fingers hovering over the console.

Then came the gunshots.

Zero's fingers flew across the buttons, pressing them all rapidly in hoping that one would open the cannister. "Now or never, now or never, now or never, now-"

"Hey!"

The next few seconds seemed to take forever to pass. He heard the shot be fired, his fingers continued to press buttons as he also jumped to the side. The shot hit the console, it popped and then crackled before erupting into a fireball. Heat washed over him, and then... Nothing.

_Sorry, Kid..._

* * *

Shadow was growing tired of this.

An hour had passed since he'd retreated to his room, meditating on his bed and trying to bring Thaw up to the surface where they could at least talk. Nothing.

Shadow didn't understand. For someone who was supposed to be the leader of a group of warriors, he seemed to be very hesitant to show off his skills. Why would he choose a host if he had no intention of working with them?

"Perhaps you are no warrior...Perhaps you're just a coward...!" He spat.

Then his eyes went wide as Thaw slammed into his stomach. The pain sent him reeling, and he rushed across the room before puking into the trash can.

Shadow trembled as he panted, swallowing back the urge to puke even more into the trash can. "_Why_...?" He whispered, "...Why are you doing this...?"

There was no answer, and Shadow sat on the floor for a moment, closing his eyes. Thaw clearly didn't like being threatened, so it must be time for a new approach...A _softer_ approach. Shadow wasn't very _good_ at soft approaches.

"...Okay, if you're going to be here, then we have to cooperate, but if you're just going to sit there and hide every time I _need_ you, then-"

_You don't need me..._

Finally, a response. The voice sounded very much like his own, except for the weak, trembling tone it was in. Shadow would never stoop to that level. "If I don't, then why did you wake yourself up to save me back there?"

_I don't know! I... I just... I felt like-_

"You were literally made to defend and protect; it's wired into you, you can't help it."

_Hmph... Not good at it, though._

Shadow's ears pricked and then he leaned back against the wall, "Oh...I see... You've lost your nerve."

_I-I haven't!_

"Yes you have!"

Shadow sat up once again, his voice echoing off of the walls in his mostly empty room. "You didn't get the others to safety in time, you made a mistake, and _now_ you're too scared of messing up again to even try!"

Thaw was quiet for several minutes, and Shadow had managed to get back up onto his feet by the time he spoke again. _How can they forgive me? I...I failed them._

"Look. You and I went through almost the same situation... We _both_ were made to protect people, and then were attacked and lost our loved ones and were forced to be dormant for a long time...But unlike _me_, you still _have_ your family. I can't say that they're _pleased_ about what happened, but I can't imagine that they blame you as much as you blame yourself... Yes, you didn't get them out in time, but you were not the one to cause the attack."

Shadow waited for Thaw to argue, but he didn't. He thought perhaps their conversation was over, but then he felt a sudden urge of energy rush through him again, and in a flash he had transformed. Black feathered wings on his back, and a green vest, boots and gloves now replaced his usual attire.

_You're right..._

"Well I'm glad we could come to an agreement... Now perhaps you can help me-"

"I _knew_ it!"

Shadow turned, seeing Rouge standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, "I _knew_ something was up! You'd better start explaining right _now_, Mister!"

_...You know, my wife used to talk to me like that._

"Any chance it's _her_?"

_My previous host's wife, I mean..._

**You will have to interrogate them both at a later date.** Omega informed as he marched up behind the bat, **There has been an attack on the Soleannan Embassy. We are to investigate immediately.**

Shadow crossed his arms as he shifted back into his normal form. "Let's get to it, then."

Rouge grumbled, "Fine, but this conversation _isn't_ over."

"Believe me, I know it isn't." Shadow took a deep breath, _Thank you for finally coming to your senses...but don't do that again._

Once again, Thaw was silent, but for now, Shadow didn't worry about that. Right now, he needed to focus on being a GUN agent, not an Amethyst.

* * *

That was it. This darkness was just the precursor to whatever laid beyond life, whichever afterlife everyone argued about was real... So why did it feel like somebody was touching him?

Zero didn't want to know, he just wanted to lay there in death, but he'd had enough when whoever it was stuck their finger up his nose. His eyes flew open and he swatted at them with a growl, but it quickly changed to a whimper as pain stabbed every inch of him, his head especially. He plopped back down, grimacing as it hit hard stone.

What had happened? He tried to remember.

"Ooo 'kay...?"

His eyes opened again, and he looked over at the owner of the young voice. It all came back when he saw the toddler, a little dirty but otherwise unhurt. He sat up again, ignoring the pain. "H-Hey... Y-Yeah, I'm good."

The toddler smiled a little, his fluffy tail wagging back and forth. "Go home now?"

"Home..."

Zero looked around the room. Everything was a mess, and from the red dripping down from the ceiling, he wondered how he was still alive. He' been closer to the blast than anyone else, after all.

A sudden pop and something falling out of his ear caught his attention, and even more when he picked it up: A used bullet, one of _theirs_. "...Yeah, I don't think going home is going to be an option, kiddo; considering it looks like my folks tried to take me out."

The toddler looked at the bullet in the jackal's hand, and then snatched it up and shoved it in his mouth.

"Hey! No!" Zero grabbed the toddler's cheeks and stuck a finger into their mouth to fish it out. "Spit it out! No!"

He finally removed it and chucked it across the room. "Sweet Chaos, what's _wrong_ with you!? You _don't_ eat bullets! Geez...!"

The toddler smacked his lips a few times, and then looked back at Zero. "Go home now?"

"You wanna go home? Fine. Where do you live? Cuz I'd be happy to drop you-Hey!"

He looked down at the child as they grabbed onto his arm and rubbed his head against his fur. He groaned, and then pulled himself up to his feet, "Okay...Come on, Tiny. We gotta get outta this place before anybody sees us...!"

The toddler happily took his hand, sucking on his thumb as Zero led him towards the stairwell.

"But the _next_ children's home I see, you're goin' in it."


	11. Hidden in the Rubble

"Looks like a bomb went off..." Rouge mumbled.

From the reports given by bystanders and witnesses, that most likely was what occurred. The death count was steadily rising as time had gone on, but it was still less than ten by the time Team Dark arrived. In the darkness of night, it was hard to overlook the entire site at once, but what was left of the building was now crumbling walls and smoking stone.

"Let's be thankful the majority of the public was in town for the festival..." Shadow murmured, "Why would someone attack the science center? What was going on there?"

The guard frowned, "Soleannan business, rodent. None of your concern."

Shadow frowned right back; the Soleannans seemed rather tight-lipped about what all of these scientists were doing in the lab in the first place. The Duke of Soleanna was sponsoring whatever had been going on here, and it was sounding more and more like he was messing with things that shouldn't be.

**Hedgehogs are not rodents.** Omega informed in as firmly a tone as an emotionless robot could muster.

"Stand down, Sparky." Rouge warned, "The last thing we want is to lose our permission to be here."

Shadow bent down to the edge of the south outer wall, running his fingers over the stone. "...What do you think, Thaw...?" He whispered.

_Whatever happened here, it wasn't caused by something outside the center... and look at how the stone is broken up like this? It wasn't blown out...It was blown _up _first._

Shadow growled, the explosion's epicenter was underground, and there was no way these guys were going to let them go down there... Not unless there was another reason.

He walked a little bit further into the rubble, looking around casually until one step found no floor, and he was sent tumbling down into the hole. "Gyah!"

He heard Rouge call out his name as he rolled down the slope, which turned out to be a stairwell, finally coming to a stop at the bottom. He unrolled from his curled position, lifting his head and coughing while waving dust out of his face. "...Oops." He murmured with a smirk, and then he pulled his flashlight out of his pocket. "Okay...Let's see what we can find down here."'

_Nicely done..._

"Glad you approve...Sometimes a little false incompetence is necessary for getting answers."

He searched the room with the flashlight's beam, finding the stone below was even more crumbled and blackened down here... This was definitely in the right direction. But in the center of this room was a large pedestal that looked like it had held a large machine of some sort, and shards of glass and metal was strewn about the room. "...The machine down here must've exploded somehow... But if it was just an engine or something, then they'd have told us, right? So what was the machine for...?"

He turned as he heard sliding, and then Rouge appeared out of the stairwell. "I'm going to assume that since you're fine and you didn't answer, that you fell down here on _purpose_."

"You're so smart...Help us look for evidence down here."

Shadow resumed his search for a few seconds, but then looked back as he didn't hear her move. "What?"

"_Us_? " Rouge accused, "Are you talking about the other voice in your head that you were talking to back at HQ? Come on, we're teammates, I need to know if you're going kookoo."

Shadow sighed, "...It's complicated. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, so I didn't really know what to tell you. It's the reason I was able to survive the molten metal, but that's all I can say at the moment."

Rouge was quiet for several seconds and then shrugged. "Fine. You've never been very good at telling us everything, so I don't know why I was so surprised."

Shadow managed a smirk, and then he began pulling rocks back to look for clues. Blood coated some of them, but then he found a few stray bullets embedded in one piece of stone. "...Someone was firing down here."

"And I found this."

Rouge held up a piece of paper, stained with blood as well. "It says 'Nice try, Jerkwads. -Elinor.'"

Shadow took the paper and then slipped it into a plastic bag. "Perhaps this blood can help us determine who this 'Elinor' is, and who she's talking about."

He broke off the piece of stone with the bullets as well and slipped it into a small plastic bag as well before hiding both in his satchel. "We'd better cut our losses while we still can, and make sure that Omega hasn't blown anyone else up."

"You gotta admit, he loves his job."

"Yes...Perhaps a little too much."

* * *

It was a dump, that was the best way to describe it. The 6th district had been the slum of the city ever since the stock market crash of '47 when so many jobs were lost and factories left abandoned. It was the kind of place where mission trips decided to go for the week, walking around feeding the homeless, building a new house or two, but it hardly changed the atmosphere or the people that were forced to make it their home.

But it was the _perfect_ place to go if you didn't want to be found or bothered, which was exactly what Zero needed right now.

As he passed an old shop, he saw the news report flicking on a TV screen, the headline _**Soleannan Research Facility Goes Up in Flames**_ spread across the bottom of the screen. Images of crumbled walls, smoking piles of rubble, and injured scientists and faculty being unearthed by rescue personnel flashed by, crying echoing through the speakers.

He pulled his coat tighter around him, marching through the dark, dirty streets towards home if you could even call it that. Others looming the streets eyed him as he passed, but they didn't dare approach him; they knew his blood, and some had tried to attack him and failed miserably.

The apartment building was missing some windows, and nobody manned the lobby so anyone could come and go. He hurried inside and then entered the stairwell. The sound of his boots hitting the concrete steps echoed off of the walls as he ascended, and when he reached the third floor, he hurried down the hall and rushed into his apartment. "I'm back."

"Fleeing roaches told me that."

The weasel stood at the window, peering down at the street through his sniper rifle. "That and seeing you rushing down the street...I'd say the mission was a success, based on the news."

"...Nobody was supposed to get hurt."

His housemate turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Zero. You're a member of a family of world-renowned mercenaries. What makes you think that nobody's going to be hurt in your jobs?" His eyes then shifted to the way the jackal was holding his coat as if hiding something under it. "What you got there?"

"You're not going to like it, Nack."

Zero walked over to the bed, opening his coat carefully and revealing the toddler snuggled up against his chest.

"...You're right, I _hate_ it. What the hell, man!?"

Fast asleep, the toddler seemed hardly disturbed by Nack's shout, only one ear twitching as he sucked on his thumb. They'd barely gotten out of Soleanna's capital when he'd started getting into the cranky, whiny mood an exhausted toddler would get into without a nap. He was out like a light as soon as Zero had picked him up so they could keep going, and had been for hours now.

"You never told me that abduction of a baby was part of the plan...!"

Zero's eyes narrowed, "It _wasn't_. Everyone's always saying to '_take care of loose ends_', and he was a loose end."

"So you decided to take care of it...? Brilliant. What happens when his parents come looking for him!?"

"I'm going to wait a few days, let the situation cool down a little, and then I'll take the kid to a home and we'll be rid of him, okay?"

"_We_? What's with the '_We_?' _I_ didn't agree to this!"

"Yes, you did. You did when you told me that if I ever needed to crash at your place for a few days, that the door would be unlocked."

Nack groaned, glaring out the window for several seconds. "...He'd better not pee on the carpet. It stinks enough in here as it is!"

"Right, we're going to need to get you diapers, aren't we...?" Zero sighed, "I don't know how long I'll be here... My family thinks they took me out back there."

"What makes you say that?"

Zero slammed the bullet down on the sill, "_This_ falling out of my _ear_."

Nack took the slug and examined it, "...Uh-huh. That's one of theirs alright. I should _know_, I used to snag spare ones out of your pockets."

"They never wanted me anyway... I gotta figure this out on my own, starting with what to do with Tiny here."  
He then went to the fridge and pulled out a warm bottle of soda, "No wonder your place stinks, your fridge is dead again."

"Great... Might as well throw out everything in it, then...Except for the beer, keep the beer in there."

"Can do..."  
Zero removed all of the rotten food, leaving anything that might still be edible, and then walked over. "Hand over your wallet, I'll head down to the shop and get stuff."

Nack snorted, "If it weren't for the fact that I trust you, I would never hand you my cash, Z."

"But you do." He took the wallet and then headed for the door, "If the kid wakes up, just tell him I'll be back. And don't let him eat the slugs."

"Why would he eat the slugs?"

Zero just groaned, walking out the door and closing it behind him. He'd had enough of tonight already, but he wasn't finished yet... "Dumb babies needing diapers and juice boxes..." He muttered.


	12. Air Battle

Sonic slumped back into the couch, his finger flipping through the channels on the TV absentmindedly. "Ugh... I'm bored."

A week had passed since the freak explosion in Soleanna, and although Sonic wasn't sure it had anything to do with the Amethysts' mission, Wind seemed to think so. It was hard to investigate without having proper clearance however, something the blue hedgehog lacked, even if he _was_ a world-renowned hero.

There hadn't been any Obsidian attacks or sightings either, but Sonic had a feeling that it meant one was only days or perhaps hours away. Come to think of it, Eggman had been rather quiet _too_...

"Let's hope we don't get double-hammered..." Tails mumbled as he fiddled through his notes, "Can you even imagine if they started working together?"

"Don't even entertain the idea of it, Mr. Prower." Wind argued, "The last thing we need is our enemies ganging up on us more than they already are."

"Hmm..." Tails looked at the random pieces of paper sprawled across the floor, "I think I've managed to work out how the energy fluctuations work... I'd have to build a prototype to be sure."

Sonic sighed, "You still working on that Amethyst scanner?"

"Yeah. If I can get it to work, we'd be able to detect a new Amethyst manifestation anywhere in the world within just a few minutes."

The hedgehog turned off the TV, flipping over to where his feet hung over the back of the couch. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad to have more of a heads-up..."

"I just need to calibrate the-"

"Calibrate the what?" Sonic inquired as Tails suddenly paused, but when his brother didn't answer, he turned and found Tails seemingly frozen, his hand hovering over one of the papers and eyes staring intently at it. "...Tails?"

He climbed off the couch and then settled across the table from Tails, waving his hand in the fox's face; he didn't even twitch. "...Weird."

Then all at once, the fox was moving again. "-Proper frequency for the scanners so they only look for Amethyst energy, so that..." The fox paused again, but this time he stayed moving, looking to the couch, and then to Sonic. "...When did you get over _there_?"

"...A few seconds ago?"

Tails stared at him in confusion, "...That's weird. You must be getting faster."

"Yeah... Maybe..."

Sonic plopped down cross-legged on the floor, looking over the papers. _What just happened...?_

_I have a slight suspicion...But I'd better not jump to conclusions yet._ Wind informed, _I did that far too much before...I'd need to talk to Thaw and see what he thinks..._

_Right... Shadow mentioned that they're talking now, but he still hasn't talked to you._

_I think I know why... But once again, just speculation._ The amethyst gave a sigh, _I just hope he comes to his senses soon... I miss him._

Sonic smirked as he patted his own shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll figure it out..."

It was then that his ears picked up a faint sound, and he stood up. "Sounds like trouble."

Tails sighed, "It was going to happen eventually... Off you go."

Sonic smirked, and then took off out the door. "Ready to meet Dr. Eggman, Wind?"

_Prepared, yes. Was I looking forward to it? Not exactly._

Sonic chuckled, rushing around a corner as he saw his nemesis' airship hovering over downtown. "I think I can take the reins this time."

_Correct._

Sonic scanned the surroundings as he entered downtown, checking to see if any of Eggman's bots were on the ground yet. He saw a platoon heading down the street, and he rushed to move civilians out of the way of their shots. As he dashed about he noticed just how few shots were actually hitting anything, and when he finally stopped, he saw they were actually moving rather slowly. Even a normal person could easily dodge or step out of the way, if not for the fact that the civilians were all moving just as slowly.

"Okay, what is going on?" He muttered, continuing to move people out of the way. "Why is everybody but me suddenly like they've decided to try the mannequin challenge?"

_Maybe ... But I don't want to jump to conclusions...But what else besides a giant Chaos Control would-_

"Wind, stop rambling. I'm trying to focus!"

_Sorry._

Sonic sighed, making sure everyone was out of danger before stopping and looking at the robots. "...Eh." He shrugged, and then blew straight through them. Even the explosions and flying pieces were moving in slow motion, to the point that he was able to richochet off of them and get more altitude to drop back down and hit more.

Right as he finished dismantling the last robot, everything suddenly snapped back to full-speed like a rubber band. The shots blew down the street and fizzled out, robot parts finished their ascent and then dropped down to the ground, and all of the civilians looked around, trying to figure out how they suddenly got onto the sidewalks.

"Welp, that takes care of the robots." He then looked up at the airship, "Now for Baldy-McNosehair...!"

He dug his shoe into the asphalt and then took off in a gust of air, a blue bolt that shot across and then up the side of a building before leaping off the top.

_Not gonna make it not gonna make it!_ Wind hollered, and then a sudden sharp gust threw Sonic forward, slamming him onto the top of the airship.

He skidded across the top, finally being stopped by running into the side of a turret.

"Oof!...Oww..." He mumbled as he sat up, rubbing his head. "Thanks for the save."

_I told you we'd make it._

The hedgehog smirked, getting back up his feet as more turrets came up to fire. "Aww... You saved all of this for me? I'm touched."

**You won't be so happy after I blow you out of the sky, Hedgehog!**

Sonic ducked under the lasers, spindashing through turrets and making them fire at each other. "So this is what he does." He murmured slowly, "He shows up with his robots, I blow them up, he runs off and is back a few weeks later to bother us again. Sometimes he's gone for longer and then comes back with some monster he's unleashed, but that's not very often."

_So... You kind of think of it as a game? You're not really taking the threat seriously?_

"I take it seriously! I just...We've been doing this back and forth for so long...It feels kinda tedious now. You know?"

_Believe me... I know._

Sonic noted the sadness in his tone; he didn't blame him, he must be exhausted from fighting Obsidians and just wanted to rest for real, knowing his mission was finished.

The blue hedgehog dodged more and more turrets, and then looked back at the smoking rooftop of the airship. "Well, I think our work's done...Huh?"

He turned just in time for a blue projectile to slam into him, knocking him off the blimp entirely. He only fell for a moment, before being slammed into the concrete wall of a nearby rooftop. He tasted blood in his mouth as he grimaced, looking up at his latest challenge and its bright red eyes seeming to glare back despite having no emotion.

"Metal...!"

He struggled to move, but the air being knocked from his lungs and Metal's tight grip on his arms kept him on his back, and Metal's knee pressed into his stomach. He was pinned.

_Mind if I step in?_ Wind asked.

"...Go for it." Sonic rasped.

To the mechanical copy, all it saw following this odd response was Sonic's eyes flashing to bright orange, before its head was crushed in. It shuddered for a second, and then went still before falling over to the side.

Sonic gasped for air as he was finally able to get deep breaths in, coughing and wiping blood from his lower lip. "Huh...How did you do that...?"

_I increased the air pressure around it. Like being caught in a giant pair of clapping hands._

"Air Pressure... Huh... Gotta remember that."

The hedgehog winced as he pulled himself up to his feet. He saw Eggman was leaving once more, and he gave a sigh. "...Let's go home. I'm not looking for action anymore..."

* * *

Meanwhile, aboard Eggman's ship, he and his two robot assistants stared in shock at what had just transpired.

"OH MY GOSH!" Cubot piped up, "Did Sonic just smoosh Metal Sonic's head with his _mind_? He's tele-pathetic!"

"I believe the word you're searching for is '_Telepathic_,' my square-headed companion..." Orbot corrected, "But it was rather impressive..."

"Shut up!" Eggman barked, "I don't know what the blue pincushion just did...But I need to find out...And then exploit it _myself_..."


End file.
